Seahawks' top pick Collier: 'Big shoes to fill' with Frank Clark gone

Collier: “It’s a little different. Things are a little faster, but I’m enjoying it and what not. I’m getting used to my new teammates and my new coaches, just like when you start something new.” less

COLLIER TO NFL NETWORK ON ADJUSTMENT TO NFL

Collier: “It’s a little different. Things are a little faster, but I’m enjoying it and what not. I’m getting used to my new teammates and my new coaches, ... more

Photo: Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire Via Getty Images

Photo: Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire Via Getty Images

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COLLIER TO NFL NETWORK ON ADJUSTMENT TO NFL

Collier: “It’s a little different. Things are a little faster, but I’m enjoying it and what not. I’m getting used to my new teammates and my new coaches, just like when you start something new.” less

COLLIER TO NFL NETWORK ON ADJUSTMENT TO NFL

Collier: “It’s a little different. Things are a little faster, but I’m enjoying it and what not. I’m getting used to my new teammates and my new coaches, ... more

Photo: Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire Via Getty Images

Seahawks' top pick Collier: 'Big shoes to fill' with Frank Clark gone

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Entering this offseason, the pass rush was already one of the Seahawks' big weaknesses. It needed a big boost for 2019. Then, amid the skyrocketing market value of top-tier defensive ends, Seattle traded Frank Clark: its top sack man, the player that kept its pass-rush threat honest.

The plan was to add help for Clark, not to lose him.

So that's why there will be so much focus in the coming season on L.J. Collier, the Seahawks' first-round pick in April's draft. The expectation is that the former TCU defensive end will be an instant-impact player as a rookie.

Collier is fully aware of that.

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"They (the Seahawks) expect a lot of me," Collier told the NFL Network on Monday. "They expect me to come in, do my job, be accountable. I have some big shoes to fill with Frank leaving last year."

It doesn't seem to bother him either. If anything, Collier is publicly embracing the expectations that have come with being Seattle's top pick.

He's been often compared with former Seahawk great Michael Bennett, for his versatility to play inside and out on the defensive line; to be a factor in both the pass rush and the run game. During rookie minicamp, Collier told reporters that he likes the spotlight that comes with comparisons to Bennett.

"I've lived with pressure my whole life," Collier said in May. "It just pushes me to go harder and play even better."

He's also leaning on the guidance of the older players around him in the defensive-line room. During rookie camp, he was chatting up with another ex-Seahawk great, Cliff Avril, for pointers in the trenches.

"There's some talented vets in the room: Jarran Reed, Quinton Jefferson," Collier told the NFL Network. "Guys that I can follow, learn how to do it. They'll get me right. I have a great (position) coach in Clint Hurtt, so if I trust in him I feel like I will be perfectly fine. ... He's going to give me everything I need to know. I just have to take the information and apply it on the field."

At TCU, Collier didn't become a consistent contributor until he was an upper classman. He wasn't a full-time starter until his senior season (when he became a first-team All-Big 12 selection). His 14.5 career sacks aren't particularly impressive, especially considering the depth of edge talent that went in the first round of the NFL draft.

But the Seahawks liked what they saw in Collier over the last several weeks. The offensive tackles, the ones he battled with in team scrimmaging, saw flashes of potential in him – albeit the restrictions that come with the offseason program.

"I think as a rookie coming in, he definitely has some savviness, some craft in his moves that you normally wouldn't see from a younger guy," Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown told reporters during OTAs. "He's strong. He's got long arms, strong player. I think right now with no pads on, it's hard to assess someone, but I think he's definitely going to make some plays this year just based on what I've seen so far."

Training camp and preseason, still more than a month away, is when we'll see truly see if he can fill the Frank Clark-sized hole in Seattle.